{"id":10435,"date":"2021-12-21T07:16:24","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T07:16:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personatalent.com\/hiring\/virtual-assistants-for-startups\/"},"modified":"2024-08-27T05:33:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T05:33:21","slug":"virtual-assistants-for-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personatalent.com\/business\/virtual-assistants-for-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Most Virtual Assistants for Startups Fall Short (And How to Find a Great One)"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s this idea that\u2019s floated in the startup world that outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant<\/a> (VA) can be a \u201csecret weapon\u201d for your business. On one hand, it\u2019s true. <\/p>\n

Great VAs can be transformative for startup founders\u2014capable of effectively managing a wide range of tasks like scheduling appointments, managing emails, making travel plans, or helping with employee onboarding, to name just a few. They can free up a significant amount of time for founders and executives to spend on the things that matter most\u2014like product development, team building, and fundraising. <\/p>\n

But most startups are completely underwhelmed when they hire a VA, finding them to be inadequate, or at best mediocre, and wishing they\u2019d never bothered hiring one in the first place.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Why is this a common experience? We\u2019ve found there are 3 primary reasons:<\/p>\n

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  1. Founders underestimate the complexity of the core tasks they want their VA to do (e.g. email management, calendar management, etc.).<\/li>\n
  2. They couple that with high expectations for the other types of tasks they\u2019d like their VA to do (e.g. lead generation, customer support, project management, etc.).<\/li>\n
  3. They aren\u2019t strategic in their hiring process because they\u2019re short on time, mistakenly  think it\u2019s a simple role to fill, and\/or don\u2019t have a good process for vetting VA candidates.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This article is going to explain these 3 problems, so you can avoid them in your own business, and help you understand how to find a VA that\u2019s actually reliable and capable of doing the tasks you want them to do. <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Then, we\u2019ll cover the process we use at Persona to find the world\u2019s best VAs, and how our virtual executive assistant service<\/a> works.<\/p>\n

    If you\u2019ve been wanting an assistant but haven\u2019t had the time to hire one, or have had bad experiences with your first virtual assistant, <\/em>click here to get started<\/em><\/a>. You can try an assistant for a month or two and see how you like it. For testimonials from our clients, check out our <\/em>homepage<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

    3 Reasons Why Startups Have Bad Experiences with Virtual Assistants<\/h2>\n

    #1: Founders Underestimate the Complexity of Standard VA Tasks Like Email and Calendar Management<\/h3>\n

    On the surface, asking someone to help you out with administrative tasks like email management or scheduling sounds straightforward. <\/p>\n

    In practice, it\u2019s not. <\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s look at a couple of examples to illustrate our point:<\/p>\n

    Example #1: Scheduling Conflicts<\/h4>\n

    Founders and entrepreneurs have busy schedules which require close management (e.g. meetings with team members, clients and investors, personal appointments, etc.). An average assistant may be able to help you with basic scheduling tasks\u2014but it\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll ever be able to take calendar management completely off your plate.  <\/p>\n

    Take scheduling conflicts for example. A really good VA can learn to navigate conflicts and double bookings the way you<\/em> would. They\u2019ll grow to understand which meetings and appointments take precedence over others. Over time, this is hugely valuable as they\u2019ll be able to manage your schedule for you completely, sometimes without you even being aware of it. <\/p>\n

    This is in contrast to an average VA who will always need to rely on you to some extent\u2014or worse, make costly mistakes\u2014diminishing the value of having a VA to begin with.<\/p>\n

    Plus, when scheduling conflicts come up, a world-class VA can communicate to key stakeholders in a personable and professional way. You can trust them to reschedule with people respectfully, and maintain good relationships with the people in your business who matter. <\/p>\n

    This often won\u2019t be the case when you hire a low quality or average VA, which can reflect poorly on you both internally with your team and externally with customers, partners, or investors.<\/p>\n

    Example #2: Managing Your Emails<\/h4>\n

    Likewise, founders receive hundreds of emails each day, many of which are largely irrelevant, and some of which are absolutely essential. It\u2019s not uncommon for key emails to get missed altogether which can result in costly mistakes<\/a> or losing out on opportunities for new business. <\/p>\n

    An average VA may be able to organize emails into folders or send out the occasional canned response. But that\u2019s not very helpful because you\u2019ll still have to go into each folder, open up every email, and figure out which ones you need to respond to yourself. In addition, important emails could be sent inappropriate responses or be completely ignored which could have a critical impact if, for example, a potential investor or client was sent incorrect information or wasn\u2019t communicated with at all.<\/p>\n

    In contrast, a truly stellar VA will be able to quickly learn the nuances of your inbox\u2014which emails they should respond to on your behalf, which ones can be set aside for later, and which are the high priority ones that only you can respond to. In addition, they\u2019ll be able to adapt to the style and etiquette you prefer, and communicate to key stakeholders with both personality and professionalism.<\/p>\n

    There\u2019s a significant difference between how an average VA and a world-class VA approaches these tasks, and the same nuances apply to other fundamental tasks VAs are leveraged for, such as:<\/p>\n